Sliver-replacement mechanism for textile machinery



Oct. 63,1925 1,556,018

' R. E. NAUMBURG SLIVER REPLACEMENT MECHANISM FOR TEXTILE MACHINERY ledMarch l0. 1921 6 SheetsSheet l vemtoz R. E. NAUMBURG SLIVER REPLACEMENTMECHANISM FOR, TEXTILE MACHINERY Filed March 10. 1921 6 Sheets-Sheet 2vwewtoi:

R. E. NAUMBURG SLIVER REPLACEMENT MECHANISM FOR TEXTILE MACHINERY FiledMarch 10, 921 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Oct. 6 1925.

R. E NAUMBURG SLIVER REPLACEMENT MECHANISM FOR TEXTILE MACHINERY FiledMarch 10. 1921 e sheets-sheet 4 f .1 W aa/f /M.

Oct. 6,1925.

R. E. NAUMBURG SLIVER REPLACEMENT MECHANISM FOR TEXTILE IACHINERY FiledMarch 10 1921 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Oct. 6,1925- 1.556018 R. E. NAUMBURGSLIVER REPLACEMENT MECHANISM FOR TEXTILE MACHINERY Filed March 10, 1921e Sheets$heet 6 Ja a. r

I ex m. w

Patented Oct. 6, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT E. NAUMBURG, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

sLIVER-REPLACEMENT MECHANISM FORHTEXTILE MACHINERY.

Application filed March 10, 1921. Serial No. 451,383.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it'known that I, ROBERT E. NAUM- none, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, city, county, andState of New York, have'invented certain new and useful Improvements inSliver-Replacement Mechanism for Textile Machinery, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My improvements relate to means for feeding a plurality of slivers tothe primary or entry rollers of a drawing frame, such as used in textilemachinery for the purpose of attenuating such slivers and uniting theminto a single sliver of prescribed character for use in subsequentprocesses incidental to the manufacture of textile fabrics, in a manherwell known in the art.

I-Ieretofore the failure or breakage of one or more of the series ofslivers thus simultaneously fed to the drawing frame has resulted in theautomatic stoppage of the machine, which remained in enforced idlenessuntil the defect was remedied manually.

It is the main object of my invention to obviate this temporaryinoperativeness of the machine, and the consequent loss of time, laborand production involved in lack of continuity of plural sliver feed, byproviding for the automatic replacement of slivers in the carriers thatfeed them to the rolls, as required; and this I accomplish withoutinterferring with the operation of the apparatus as long as replacementslivers are available,-the invention consisting in the combination andarrangement of parts and devices described and claimed whereby thiseffect is attained, and a feature of the preferred embodiment of theinvention being the utilization of such gravity tension spoons as arereleased by lack of continuity of sliver feed to set in operation myrelief mechanism, whereby the substitution and replacement of slivers isaccomplished, all as hereinafter fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, I have exemplified a practical embodimentof my invention in conjunction with well known operative parts ofdrawing frame mechanism of apparatus of the character designated, inwhich provision is made for ten slivers, two or more of which maypresu1nably beheld in reserve to be utilized as replacements for brokenor exhausted slivers, although the relative number of active slivers andreserve slivers may be varied at will, and without special arrangementor adjustment of parts,the ends of the initially active slivers beinginserted by hand between the entry rollers of the customary series ofdrawing or attenuating rollers in the usual manner, and the ends ofother or reserve slivers being so inserted in their respective carriers,ready for automatic substitution on emergency in a manner to behereinafter described. It is to be understood of course in thisconnection that I do not limit myself to any plural number of sliversthus to be provided for in the apparatus, the essential features ofconstruction and operation being the same irrespective of the number ofslivers used in such co-relation, and the control mechanism' beingpractically duplicated for each sliver accommodated. 7

Furthermore while I herein describe the invention as used in connectionwith, and adapted to the requirements of a cottondrawing frame of wellknown construction, I do not limit myself thereto, since the essentialfeatures of my invention 'may be utilized in other forms of {apparatusand processes incidental to the manufacture of textile products, fromeither cotton or other fibrousmaterial in which continuity of feed of aplurality of slivers or other strands is important.

With this understanding, Fig. 1, represents a plan of the portions of acotton sliver drawing frame to which my improvements have been applied,the top plate being broken away in'part;

Fig. 2, is a similar view with the top plate and spoon knife edgefulcrum bar removed, showing the operative parts positioned thereunderFig. 2, is a detail View of one of the sliver carrier heads;

Fig. 3, is a sectional elevation upon a iarger scale, taken upon planeof lines 3-3,

Fig.1, is a view like unto Fig. 3, illustrating the operation of thesliver replacement mechanism;

Fig. 5, is a sectional elevation showing means for automatically doggingthe vibrator which controls the stop motion device of the machine;

Fig. 6, is a detail illustrating the application of the machine stopwhen electrically controlled Fig. 7, is a view showing details of thetrip cam shaft;

Fig. 8, is a sectional elevation showing one of the rockable suspenderarms on and between which the carrier selector bar is mounted;

Fig. 9, is a sectional elevation taken upon plane of line 99, Fig. 8;

Fig. 10, is a perspective view of one of the controlling sliver spoons;

Fig. 11, is a rear elevation of one of the spoon-feeler triggers andmounts;

Fig. 12, is a sectional elevation, similar to Figs. 3 and 4 in part,illustrating in connection therewith the operation of one of the feelertriggers as related to the universal replacement bar;

Fig. 13, is a sectional detail illustrating the difference in rearprojection of the carrier lever arms as related to the selector bar.

Fig. 14, is a sectional detail showing means for controlling andactuating the gravity dog lever by which the machine stop mechanism isautomatically utilized in connection with my sliver replacementapparatus.

T, is the ordinary rear top plate of a cotton drawing frame detachablysecured to brackets f, f, on the exterior of the side wall plates f, 7,of the supporting frame. The

usual knife edge fulcrum bar 6 on which the gravity tension-feed spoonsS, are mounted, is rigidly attached to the under side of said top plateT. The said feed spoons S, are of customary construction, being formedwith the sliver guide flanges s, s, saddle shoulders, s, and trippingshoulders 8 it being understood of course that the spoons S, asheretoforeare delicately balanced on the knife edge fulcrum bar 23?, andthat their gravity centers tend constantly to hold them with theirshanks 8 against the inclined surface of the fulcrum rail 15 as in thecase of the spoon S, shown in section in Fig. 3, from which positionthey are tilted by the weight of the sliver a", when present as abovestated, into the feed position indicated by spoon S, as shown in saidFig. 3, with their aforesaid shanks 8 resting against a stationary part,as for instance, the rear edge 1', of the transverse slot 25, formed inthe top plate T, to admit of the protrusion of the upper portions of thespoons S, above said top plate in the usual manner, to bring their guideflanges s, 8, into operative relationship with the sliver drawingmechanism.

'r', 7', represent the rear or sliver receiving rollers of the usualseries of attenuating rollers provided in drawing frames of this type,said rollers 1', 1", being mounted on and between the side members f 7,of the frame work, and being actuated and functioning as heretofore.

7, is a fixed fulcrum rod on which the carriers 0, C, which feed theslivers a", 00, directly to the rear drawing rollers r, 'r', are looselyfulcrumed. This fulcrum rod or shaft 7, is rigidly supported by andbetween the side plates f, f, of the frame, and affords pivotal supportnot only for the carriers C, C, but also for the two suspender arms a,a, positioned respectively on said fulcrum rod f*, at opposite endsthereof.

Each suspender arm a, has pivotally mounted upon it, (as at a) a stirruprock lever b, to the stirrup arms 7), b, to which rock levers 7), b, theselector bar B, is rigidly attached, and between which it extends forapproximately the whole distance between the side plates f, f, of theframe, as shown particularly in Fig. 2.

The upper side of said selector bar 13, is formed with a longitudinalgroove 6*, for engagement with the bevelled ends 0, of the carrier leverarms 0. These latter are of different lengths, as indicated particularlyin Fig. 13, in which the difference is shown as of progressive sequence,although this is not essential, as any promiscuous arrangement in thisrespect will answer the same purpose. Thus when the carriers C, C, arein the position indicated by that in solid lines in Fig. 4, the saidpointed ends 0, of their lever arms c, are located to engagesuccessively with the groove 79*, in the selector bar B, when the latteris raised by the rocking of the stirrup lever b, b, the longest leverarm 0', of those in such depressed or retracted position being of courseselected first, and'so on consecutively, according to circumstances andconditions prevalent at the time. It is to be understood in this con--nection that the upper portions or heads 0 of the carriers C, areheavier than their selective lever arms 0', and that they are so shapedas related to the fulcrum rod 7, on which they aresupportedthat theircenters of gravity may be positioned on either side of the latter, aswill be understood by a comparison of the carriers shown in solid linesin Figs. 3 and 4 respectively. They are supported in the position shownin Fig. 3, by the contact of their selective lever arms 0, with a bufferstrip i on the under side of the rear top plate T, whereas in theposition shown in solid lines in Fig. 4, they rest against a rest rod h,rigidly afiixed to and between rockers it, h, fulcrumed on the rod 7, asand for the purpose hereinafter stated.

The short arm 6 of each stirrup rock lever b, is pivotally connected (asat with the forward end of one of two links L, the rear extremities ofwhich are pivotally connected (as at Z) with the long arms is, of one ofthe two bell-cranks K. The latter are fulcrumed (as at is) each to aside plate 7, of the frame work, and their short arm carry rigidlymounted upon and between them the universal bar U, so called because itextends in operative relation to all of the feeler triggers d, whichlatter are individually and pivotally mounted each on its own trip levere, a series of which are loosely mounted on a fixed rod or shaft E,extending between and rigidly secured to the aforesaid side members f,f, of the frame work.

Retractile springs k, 7:", attached to the bell cranks K, K, and to theside members 7, f, of the frame, or other stationary part, actingthrough the links L, L, tend constantly to thrust the short arms 6 6 ofthe stirrup rock levers b, 6, against stops ax, at", on the suspenderarms a, a, and thus indirectly to hold the latter normally against thestops f, 7", aflixed to the side members f, f, or other stationary partsof the frame. This normal positioning of the suspender arms a, a, andtheir connections is shown more particularly in Figs. 3, 5 and 8, of thedrawings, by reference to which it will be seen that the functions ofthe retractile springs 70 W, are duplex, and of importance in that theynot only control the normal positions and relationship of the suspenderarms a, a, stirrup levers b, b, and selector bar B, as above stated, butalso act in like manner to tend constantly to maintain the bell cranksK, and universal bar U, in normal positions,-the said retractile springsif, acting in conjunction with the stops f", f", in this respect, sincethe latter limit the forward thrust of the connecting links L, L, asshown clearly, for instance, in Figs. 3 and 5.

It may be here noted that each suspender arm a, is provided at its lowerextremity with a spring detent, one of which is shown in sectionaldetail in Fig. 9, although I do not restrict myself to this identicalconstruction of detent, the function of which is to retard the yieldingof the said suspender arms a, a, to the initial strain exerted by thelinks L, L, at the inception of the operation of effecting the automaticreplace ment of a sliver, as hereinafter set forth. In the form ofdetent thus shown by way of exemplification, the inner end of a plungerp is mounted in a bearing bored for the purpose in the lower extremityof the suspender arm a, the outer end of the said plunger extendingthrough'a bearing in the otherwise closed end of-a cylindrical casing orscrew cap 19, attached to said lower end of said suspender arm a, and acompression spring 2 being interposed between the end of saidcylindrical casing p, and a shoulder 19 on the plunger 19, the inner endor nose of which is peak-shaped to adapt it to protrude into adepression f, formed for the purpose in the opposed inner surface of theadjacent side member 7', of the frame, as shown only in said Fig. 9, ofthe drawings.

As before stated each feeler-trigger cl, is pivotally mounted (as at d)on one of a series of trip levers e,'independently and rockably mountedon a fixed shaft I). Retractile springse, one for each trip lever e, areattached thereto and to a common cross rod 7, extending between the sidemembers 7, f, of the frame, as shown more particularly in Fig. 2,thetrip levers 6, being formed each with a hook lug 6 for such spring 6.These springs e, tend constantly to rock the trip levers e in such amanner as to hold shoulders 6 on said trip levers e, in contact withstop pins 6 on the fixed shaft E, as shown in Fig. 11,.and indicated bydotted lines in Figs. 3 and 4. Each trip lever e, is formed with a toe6*, which protrudes into the orbital plane of rotation of one of theradial cams m, ri idly mounted. on the rotatable cam shaft ,-the numberof said cams being equal to the number of trip levers e, feeler-triggersd, and spoons S, installed in the machine, during the operation of whichsaid cam shaft M, is rotated continuously.

Each feeler-trigger d, is formed with a shoulder cl, which normally isheld in con tact with the rear edge of the trip lever e, (on which saidfeeler-trigger d, is mounted) by means of a spring (Z attached to and interposed between said shoulder cl, and the shoulder 6 on. the trip lever6. Hence, whil the latter is freeto be rocked by its particular cam m,on'the rotating shaft M, against the resistance of the spring 6, eachfeeler-trigger d, is held normally with its lateral feeler-flange 03 inlowest position, and with its forward or depressor-arm (Z elevated abovethe universal bar U, as shown particularly in F ig, 3. Thus, while afeedspoon is held by a sliver m, in the tilted position in which thespoon S, is'shown in F ig. 3, with its tripping shoulders .9 out of thepath of the feeler-fiange (Z of its particular trigger (Z, theoscillation of the latter and its supportingtriplever 6, caused by thecontact of the cam m, with the toe e", of the latter, will beinoperative'in so far as the other parts are concerned.

'W'hen, however, a sliver or, breaks or is exhausted, releasing a spoonand allowing it to assume the position of. the spoon'S, shown in sectionin said Fig. 3, with its shank s resting against the inclined rear faceof the knife fulcrum bar 1?, thereby protruding its tripping shoulders s8 into the path of the lateral feeler flange d of the trigger d, thelatter will be rocked onits pivot (Z, against the resistance of thespring W, as the cam m, depresses the toe 6*, of the trip lever e. As aresult, the forward end of the depressor arm d contacts with theuniversal bar U, thereby rocking the bell crank levers K, K, on theirpivotal supports 7s, (positioned on the side members 7, f, of the frame,as heretofore stated) against the resistance of the retractile springsis", 70*, and causing the links L, L, to rock the stirrup levers b, b,on their pivotal supports a, a, on the suspender arms a, a,the latterbeing held stationary temporarily during the inception of the retractilemovement of said links L, L, and rock levers K, K, by the plungers p, p,until the strain exerted by the cam m, and intermediate parts specifiedabove is sufficient to overcome the resistance of the springs 9 p whichnormally hold the peaked inner ends of said plungers y p, in engagementwith the sockets f, f", in the side members f, f, of the frame ashereinbefore described in connection with Fig. 9 of the drawings. Thisretardation of the response of the suspender arms a, a, to the pullexerted by the links L, L, is for the purpose'of enabling the groove 6*,in the upper side of the selector bar B, to engage with and take up thebevelled edge 0, of the longest carrier lever arm 0, in depressed orretracted position (as shown in Fig. 4) preparatory to the rearwardswing of said suspender arms a, a, thereby insuring the clearance ofsaid selector bar B, by and beyond the bevelled edges 0, of the otherretracted carriers C, so that there can be no interference therewith.The necessary preliminary movement of the stirrup levers b, b, and theselector bar B, thus provided for and attained, is rendered practicallypositive by the spring detents p, p, and their sockets f, f", in suchmanner that only the particular retracted reserve carrier 0, having themost protuberant lever arm 0, will or can be affected by the operationof intermediate parts brought into action by a spoon released bydiscontinuance of active sliver feed, as above set forth.

The completion of the downward thrust of the cam m, acting on the toee", of the trip lever e, in conjunction with the resistance afforded bythe contact of the feeler flange d of the triggers d, with the trippingshoulders 8 of the spoon S, not only completes the depression ofuniversal bar U, to the extent requisite to effect the raising of thecarrier C, until its center of gravity is forward of the fulcrumshaft fso as to enable it to assume the position shown in Fig. 3, with the endof its sliver w, thrust between the receiving rollers r, r, of thedrawing frame, but also carries the forward end of the depressor arm albelow the said universal bar U, as will be understood by a comparativereference to Figs. 4: and 12,

thereby releasing the rock levers K, K, and

links L, L, so that the retractile springs 70*, 73*, are free to returnthesaid parts, and the stirrup levers b, b, and suspender arms a, a, tonormal positions, as in Fig. 3. During this return of parts to normal.relationship the detent plungers p, p, are however again utilized, butin this instance the purpose is to retard the retractile movement of thesuspender arms a, at, until the short arms 6 5 of the stirrup levers Z),Z), again contact with the stops a*, a9, on said suspender arms a, a, sothat the selector bar B, is again lowered out of range of the ends 0, ofany reserve carrier levers 0, that may still be in depressed orretracted position, this being accomplished prior to the forward swingof said suspender arms a, a. This the said spring plungers p, p, do byfrictional contact with the inner surfaces of the side members f, f, ofthe frame, thus insuring the engagement of the short arms Z2 12 of thestirrup levers 6, Z), with the stops at", a until said spring plungersp, 7), again coincide with and enter their mortices 7, 7, when thesuspender arms a, a, reach and rest against the fixed shoulders f", 7,on the side members 7, f, of the frame, thereby again setting themechanism in prescribed normal relationship for the repetition of thesliver replacement operation above described in case of further lack ofcontinuity of sliver feed, provided of course that there are stillreserve carriers in retracted position, with their upper portionsreclining against the rest rod h, when the latter is in normal retractedposition, as in Fig. 4:.

When a fresh sliver 00, is passed manually over a spoon S, on its way toa carrier C, the act of course tilts such spoon forward on the fulcrumbar 25 so that the tripping shoulders .9 of said spoon are held out ofthe path of the contact flange (Z on the feeler-trigger d, opposed toand in alignment with said spoon S, thus allowing the spring 03 toassist the trigger d, to again assume its normal position with itsdepressor arm (Z above the universal bar U, and permitting the triplever c, and its feelertrigger d, to oscillate freely during the contactof the cam m, with the trip lever toe 0*, until such time as the spoonS, is again relieved of sliver tension, and hence again rocks back intothe position shown in section in Fig. 3, with its shank s restingagainst the fulcrum bar 6 The rocker arms it, upon and between which therest rod 7b, is rigidly mounted, are loosely fulcrumed on the fixedshaft 7", near the opposite extremities thereof, and

beyond the series of carriers C, C. The bevelled rear ends k of theserocker arms 72;, are nearer the center of the shaft f than any of thecorrespondingly bevelled ends of the lever arms 0, of the carriers C, sothat they are the last to engage with the selector bar 13, and then onlyafter all the carriers C, C, have been tilted forward into the positionshown in Fig. 3. That is to say, if there are no carriers C, G, inreserve, all such having been utilized for replacement of slivers asabove set forth, the subsequent release of a spoon S, by the breaking orexhaustion of the sliver feed, will result in the engagement of theselector bar 13, with the ends if, if, of the rocker arms It, it,thereby tilting the latter into the position shown in Fig. 5, with theirends If, 71?, resti g against the buffer 25 Forming part of, or integralwith, one of the rocker arms h, is a cam 72,", against which rests theupper arm 9, of a gravitydog lever G, pivotally supported at g, thelower and longer arm 9 of said gravity dog lever being used to stop themachine when a break of sliver feed occurs after all the reserve orreplacement carriers C, C, have been raised as and for the purposehereinafter set forth. This cam is so timed with relation to its rockerarm it, (and hence also. with regard to duplicate rocker arm h, on theother extremity of the fixed shaft 7') that when the rocker arm istilted back with its feeler end 72?, depressed as in solid lines inFigs. 3 and 14, the protuberant eccentric portion of said cam it", willextend in substantially horizontal align ment, as shown in dotted linesin both Figs. 3 and 5, and in solid lines in Fig. 14, thereby sustainingsaid gravity dog lever G, with its arms in raised position, as indicatedin solid lines in Fig. 3, and in dotted lines in Fig. 5,the longer lowerarm 9 of the gravity dog lever G, acting as a counterweight whichmaintains contactual engagement between the upper extremity of the shortarm g, of said lever and the operative eccentric portion of thecontrolling and actuating cam h, as will be readily perceived by acomparative reference to said Figs. 3 and 5, of the drawings. As aconsequence of this cam control of the gravity dog lever G, when therocker arms 71., h,ar'e raised by the selector barB,as above stated, theeccentric portion of the cam 7%, will be depressed as shown in solidlines in Fig. 5, thereby allowing the gravity dog lever G, to assume theposition indicated in solid lines in Figs. 5 and 6, with its lower armin position to dog and stop the operation of the whole machine throughthe medium of the usual stop mechanism provided in connection therewith.Thus, in Fig. 5, the end of the lower arm 9 of the gravity dog lever G,is shown as protruding into the path of oscillation of the arm '0,rigidly attached to the vibratory shaft V, incidental to one form ofmachine stop mechanism, while in Fig. 6, the said lower arm 9 of thegravity dog lever G, is shown as closing an electrical circuit in whichmachine stop mechanism is interposed in a manner well known in the art.

In either case it is the tripping forward of the rocker arms h, h, bythe selector bar B, after all the reserve carriers C, C, have beenutilized for sliver replacement, that effects the stoppage of the wholemachine upon the next succeeding failure of sliver feed, until freshslivers are substituted for those lacking, and the apparatus is re-setfor automatic control, which latter may be accomplished by the simpleexpedient of rocking back the cam iv, and levers h, h, by means of therest bar h, as a handle, or by any expedient that will return said restbar it, rock levers h, and cam 71.", to normal retracted position, (asby turning back one of the carriers C) in which they will be sustainedby the counterweight arm 9 of the gravity dog lever G, by reason of thecontactual engagement'of the upper arm 9, thereof with the cam Jr, as inFigs. 3 and 14.

It is to be understood as related to the foregoing description that thepreponderance of weight of the rest bar it, rocker arms h, k, and cam hbeing (as indicated in Fig. 14:) in advance of the center of thestationary shaft f, on which they are articularly supported, it is onlynecessary for the selector bar B, to tilt the rocker arms h, it,sufiiciently to effect the tripping downward of the cam h", inorder toallow the gravity lever G, to assume the machinedogging position, and tomaintain it so untilthe apparatus is reset, and said gravity lever G,returned to normal position by the turning of the cam h again intohorizontal alignment, as indicated particularly in Figs. 3 and 14,thereby releasing the machine stop mechanism.

Obviously, if a reserve of auxiliary or replacement slivers ismaintained by threading fresh slivers over the spoons and into emptycarriers'from time to time as occasion or opportunity affords, theapparatus maybe run for a long time without intermission,the amount ofattention re- .quired, and the frequency of inspection involved, being,governed largely by the numberof sliver carriers and connectionsinstalled, and the proportion thereof held in reserve. In other words,with ordinary care and attention, the apparatus may be successfullyoperated continuously for an indefinite period, thereby effectingpractical and substantial economy in resultant cost of product.

While I herein show and describe the embodiment of the essentialfeatures of my invention in practical form as related to a drawing frameof well known type, 1 do not limit myself to minor details ofconstruction and arrangement of parts, nor to the combination thereofwith cotton sliver drawing mechanism, since various modifications may beresorted to in applying and adapting my improvements to apparatus fortreating slivers of other textile material without departing from thespirit and intent of my invention in this respect.

In this connection it is to be understood that the principle involved inmy invention may be adapted and employed wherever one or more ends,slivers, strands, threads, or cords (which are liable to break or becomeexhausted) are to be transferred or fed in or to, not only drawingframes, but also lap winders, sliver lap machines or other mechanismsfor treating fibrous material in the art of textile manufacture.

3y the term active carriers as employed in the claims for convenience ofdescription, I mean to designate those carriers which are positioned inactive feed relation to the sliver receiving rolls of the apparatus, ashereinbefore set forth.

In order to simplify and shorten the claims I therein use the termuniversal bar to designate a depression or rock bar performing thefunctions of the bar U shown in the drawings. In like manner thespecification is relied upon to define the function of the springdetents positioned on the suspender arms a, a. Furthermore, theconstruction, operation, and functions of the sliver feed gravity spoonsS, being well known in the art, special reference thereto in theclaimsis omitted.

"lhe wordsliver as used in the appended claims is intended to includenot only slivers properly so-called, but any strands,

threads, cords or ropes capable of being op-.

erated upon in machines of the character described I That I claim as myinvention and desire to securebyLetters Patent is, 1. In textilemachinery of the characte described, means for simultaneously passing aplurality of slivers through a set of drawing rolls, means for holdinganother sliver in reserve, and means for automatically engaging saidreserve sliver between the rolls upon breakage or exhaustion of one ofthe other slivers.

2. In textile machinery of the character described, meansfor-simultaneously passing a plurality of slivers through a set ofdrawing rolls, means for holding another sliver in reserve with its endin proximity to the rolls, and means for automatically engaging the endof said reserve sliver between the rolls upon breakage or exhaustion ofone of the other slivers.

3. In textile machinery of the character described, means forsimultaneously passing a plurality of slivers through a set of drawingrolls, means for holding a plurality of slivers in reserve, and meansfor automatlcally engaging said reserve slivers one by one in the rollsupon breakage or exhaustion of other sliverssuccessively.

4. In textile machinery of the character described, means forsimultaneously passing a plurality of slivers through a set of drawingrolls, means for holding a plurality of slivers in reserve with theirends in proximity to the rolls, and means for automatically engaging theends of said reserve slivers one by one in the rolls upon successivebreakage or exhaustion of other slivers.

5. In textile machinery of the character described, means forsimultaneouslypassing a plurality of slivers through a set of drawingrolls, means for holding another sliver in reserve, and automaticmechanism for feeding said reserve sliver into said rolls, saidmechanism being controlled by a memher which normally engages a movingsliver and is displaced upon the breakage or exhaustion of said sliver.

6. In textile machinery of the character described, means forsimultaneously passing a plurality of slivers through a set of drawingrolls, means for holding a plurality of slivers in reserve, andautomatic mechanism for feeding said reserve slivers successively intosaid rolls,-said mechanism being controlled by members which normallyengage moving slivers and are displaced by the breakage or exhaustionthereof.

7. In textile machinery of the character described, means forsimultaneously passing a plurality of slivers through a set of drawingrolls, means for holding another sliver in reserve, and automaticmechanism for feeding said reserve sliver into said rolls, saidmechanism being controlled by a member placed in operative relation tothe path of travel of a moving sliver and actuated upon breakage orexhaustion of such sliver.

8. In textile machinery of the character described, means forsimultaneously passing a plurality of slivers through a set of drawingrolls, means for holding a plurality of slivers in reserve, andautomatic mechanism for feeding said reserve slivers successively intosaid rolls, said mechanism being controlled by members in operativerelation to the path of travel of moving slivers and actuated uponbreakage or exhaustion of such slivers.

9. In apparatus of the character described, a plurality of devices forfeeding individual slivers to drawing rolls, some of said feed devicesbeing in active position and at least one other being positioned inreserve, and means for automatically throwing a reserve feed device intoactive position upon a discontinuation of feed in an actively positionedfeed device.

10. In apparatus of the character described, a plurality of devices forfeeding individual slivers to drawing rolls, some of said feed devicesbeing in active position and others being positioned in reserve, andmeans for automatically throwing said reserve feed devices into activeposition one at a time in sequence upon discontinuation of feedoccurring in actively positioned feed devices.

11. In apparatus of the character described, drawing rolls, means forfeeding a plurality of slivers thereto, means for bolding a plurality ofreserve slivers with their ends in proximity to the drawing rolls, andmeans automatically operable upon discontinuation of feed of any sliverto engage the end of one of said reserve slivers in said rolls.

12. In apparatus of the character described, means for feeding sliversto drawing rolls, a plurality of reserve sliver feed devices havingprojecting arms of different. lengths, and a member operableautomatically upon discontinuance of the feed of a sliver to engage thatfeed device in reserve position which has the longest projecting arm,whereby said reserve sliver feed devices are thrown into active positionone at a time upon discontinuance of successive sliver feeds.

13. In textile machinery, means for guiding a plurality of travelingstrands, means for holding another strand in reserve, and meansoperative upon the breakage or exhaustion of any one of said travelingstrands for automatically substitutingsaid reserve strand therefor.

14. In textile machinery, means for simultaneously passing a pluralityof strands through a set of rolls, means for holding another strand inreserve, and means for automatically engaging said reserve strandbetween the rolls upon breakage or exhaustion of any one of the otherstrands.

15. In textile machinery, means for simul taneously passing a pluralityof traveling strands through a set of rolls, a magazine for holdinganother strand in reserve, a stop motion, and means operative uponbreakage or exhaustion of one of said traveling strands forautomatically engaging a reserve strand between the rolls if saidmagazine is loaded with a reserve strand, and for operating said stopmotion if said magazine is empty.

16. In textile machinery, a plurality of traveling strands, a detectorfor each strand, a reserve strand, a universal bar, and means wherebyupon breakage or exhaustion of one of said traveling strands thedetector there- 17. In textile machinery, a plurality of travelingstrands, a detector for each strand, an oscillating feeler for eachdetector, means for holding a strand in reserve, a universal bar, andmeans whereby upon breakage or exhaustion of one of said travelingstrands the detector therefor will cause said bar to effect thesubstitution ota reserve strand for the broken or exhausted one if therebe a reserve strand in place, and if not to stop the machine.

18. In textile machinery of the character designated, means for passinga plurality of slivers through feed rolls, meansfor holding anothersliver in reserve, and means for automatically engaging said reservesliver between the rolls upon breakage or exhaustion of one of the otherslivers.

19. Sliver replacement mechanism of the character designated, comprisingmeans controlled by the sliver gravity-feed spoons for automaticallyeffecting the replacement of broken or exhausted individual slivers asfed to the rolls.

20. Sliver replacement mechanism of the character designated, comprisingmeans con trolled by sliver gravity-feed spoons for automaticallyeffecting the replacement of broken or exhausted individual slivers asfed to the drawing rolls, and for automatically stopping the operationof the machine When such sliver feed is not available.

21. The method herein described of utilizing the plural sliver feed tothe rollers of a drawing frame of the character designated, consistingin automatically controlling and effecting individual sliver replacementby means of gravity feed spoons, substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

22. The method herein described of utilizing plural sliver feed to therolls of a drawing frame of the character designated without impedingthe operation of the machine as long as slivers are available as setforth, consisting in automatically attain.

ing and controlling sliver replacement and then stopping the machinewhen such sliver feed is not available, both operations being effectedby means of gravity feed spoons, substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

23. The combination with sliver replace ment mechanism of the characterdesig nated, comprising means controlled by the sliver gravity feedspoons for effecting the automatic replacement of broken or exhaustedindividual slivers, ofa plurality of sliver carriers some of which areemployed actively I in f eding slivers to drawing rolls, and some ofwhich are held in reserve, for the purpose set forth. I

24. The combination with sliver replacement mechanism of the characterdesignated, comprising means controlled by gravity feed spoons foreffecting the automatic replacement of broken or exhausted individualslivers, and for automatically stopping the machine when such sliverfeed is not available, of a plurality of sliver carriers, some of whichare employed actively in feeding slivers to the drawing rolls, andothers of which are held in reserve, for the purpose set forth.

25. The method herein described of rendering plural sliver feed to therolls of the drawing frame practically continuous in apparatus of thecharacter designated, which consists in replacement of individualslivers by automatic means controlled by the gravity feed spoons of theapparatus, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

26. The method herein described of utilizingthe lack of continuity ofsliver feed to the rolls of a drawing frame of the character designated,to effect the automatic replacement of slivers by means of mechanismcontrolled by the gravity feed spoons over which said slivers are fed tothe apparatus, substantially as and for th purpose clescribed.

27. The method herein described of attaining continuity of sliver feedto a drawing frame of the character designated, consisting essentiallyin utilizing the discontinuation of the feed of an individual sliver toeffect the automatic substitution of a fresh sliver therefor through themedium of the gravity feed spoons over which said slivers are fedindividually to the apparatus, substantially as set forth.

28. The method herein described of attaining the replacement of a sliverto the feed rolls of a drawing frame of the character designated,consisting in utilizing the discontinuation of the feed of one sliver toautomatically effect the substitution of another sliver in lieu thereofby means of lack of sliver tension on the gravity spoon affected by suchdiscontinuation, substantially as and for the purpose described.

29. In apparatus of the character desig nated, a plurality of devicesfor feeding individual slivers to the rolls of a drawing frame, andmeans for automatically substituting one of such sliver feed devices inlieu of another by utilizing a lack'of continuity of individual sliverfeed, substantially as set forth.

30. In apparatus of the character desig nated, a plurality of devicesfor feeding individual slivers to the rolls of a drawing frame, some ofsaid sliver feed devices being in active position and others beingpositioned in reserve, and means for automatically substituting areserve feed device in lieu of an actively positioned feed device inwhich a discontinuation of feed has occurred, substantially as setforth.

31. In apparatus of the character designated, a plurality of devices forfeeding individual slivers to the rolls of a drawing frame, some of saidsliver feed devices being in active position and others being positionedin reserve, means for automatically substituting a reserve feed devicein lieu of an actively positioned feed device in which a discontinuationof feed has occurred, and means for automatically stopping the machinewhen all the reserve feed devices have been utilized, substantially asand for the purposes set forth.

32. In textile machinery, the combination with a drawing frame of thecharacter designated, of a plurality of sliver carriers adapted to feedindividual slivers to receiving rolls, gravity guide spoons arranged tofeed slivers to said carriers, and intermediate re placement mechanismcontrolled by said gravity guide spoons and adapted to effect asubstitution of sliver carriers upon the failure of sliver feed thereto.

83. In textile machinery, the combination with a drawing frame of thecharacter designated, of a plurality of sliver carriers adapted to feedslivers to receiving rolls, some of which carriers are active and someof which are held in reserve, gravity guide spoons adaptedto feedslivers to all of said carriers, and intermediate replacement mechanismcontrolled by said gravity guide spoons, and adapted to effectreplacement of sliver feed upon failure thereof.

34. In sliver replacement mechanism of the character designated, thecombination of an active sliver carrier positioned to feed a sliverdirectly to the receiving rolls of the drawing frame, a reserve slivercarrier, and mechanism arranged to automatically substitute the reservesliver carrier in lieu of the first named carrier upon the failure ofsliver feed thereto, as set forth.

35. In sliver replacement mechanism of the character designated, thecombination of a plurality of active sliver carriers positioned each tofeed an individual sliver directly to the receiving rolls of the drawingframe, a plurality of reserve sliver carriers,

and mechanism arranged to automatically substitute one of the reservesliver carriers in lieu of an active sliver carrier when the sliver feedto the latter fails, for the purpose set forth.

36. In sliver replacement mechanism of the character designated, thecombination of an active sliver carrier positioned to feed a sliverdirectly to the receiving rolls of the drawing frame, a reserve carrier,gravity sliver guide spoons, one for each of said carriers, arranged tosupply slivers thereto, and mechanism controlled by said gravity guidespoons for automatically substituting the reserve sliver carrier in lieuOil the so called active. carrier upon the failure o1 sliver feedtension on its sliver guide spoon. 37. In sliver replacement mechanismof the character designated, the combination of a plurality of activesliver carriers positioned each to feedanindividual sliver directly tothe receiving rolls of the drawing frame, a plurality of reserve slivercarriers, gravity sliver-guide. spoons, one for each of said carriers,arranged to supply slivers thereto, and mechanism controlled by saidgravity guide spoons for automatically substitutinga reserve slivercarrier in place of, a so calledactive carrier upon the failure ofsliver-teedtension over its guide spoon, as set forth.

, 38. In textile, machinery of the character designated, the combinationwith sliver drawing rolls, of sliver replacement mechanism, comprising aplurality of independently and pivotally supported sliver teed carrierseach formed with a selective lever 'arm of a length different from thatof others in the series, a vreciprocatory selector bar adaptedto contactwith and raise said selector lever ,arms separately and successively,according to the length thereof interposed in the path ofreciprocationof said selector bar and,gravity-spoon controlled mechanismfor. automatically actuating said selector bar when a spoon is relievedof sliver feed ten sion, for the purpose set forth.

39,. In textile machinery of the character designated, the combinationwith sliver drawing rolls, of sliver replacement mechanism, comprising aplurality of independently and pivotally supported 1 sliver feedcarriers each formed with a selective lever arm of a length differentfrom that of the others .in the series, a :reciprocatory selector baradapted to contact with and raise said selector lever arms separatelyand successivelyaccordmg to the length thereof1nter- I posed in the pathof reciprocation of said selectorbar, stirrup levers on andbetween whichtheselector bar is rigidly mounted, suspender arms on which said stirruplevers are pivotally supported, bell crank levers links pivotallyconnecting said stirrup levers withsaid vbell crank levers, a universalbar supported upon and between said bell crank levers, a series ofvibratory trip levers, a pluralityof rotatable cams for actuating saidtrip .levers, feeler triggers pivotallymounted onsaid trip levers, andsliver-teed gravity spoons pivotally mounted and formed with trippingshoulders which protrude into, the path of said feeler triggers on I thetrip .levers when saidspoons are relieved of sliver feed tension, as andtorrthe purpose set forth.

40. In textile machinery of the character designated, the combinationwith sliver drawing rolls, of silver replacement mecha nism,.comp risinga plurality of independently and pivotally supported sliver teedcarrierseach formed with aselective lever arm-of afllength differentfrom that of the others in the series,a reciprocatory selector baradapted to contact with and raise said selector lever arms separatelyand successivelyaccording to the length thereof interposed in the pathof reciprocation of said selector bar, stirrup levers on and betweenwhich, the selector bar is rigidly mounted, suspender arinsonwhich saidstirrup levers are pivotally supported, spring ,detents on saidsuspender arms arranged to retard the movement thereof, bell,cranklevers, links,

pivotally connecting said stirrup levers with sa d hell crank levers, auniversal bar supported-upon and between said [ten crank levers,,aseriesof vibratory trip levers, a plurality ofrotata'ble cams foractuating said Qtrip levers, feeler" triggers pivotally' carriers eachformed with a selective lever armdof a length different from that of theothers in the series, a reciprocatory. selector bar adapted to contactwith and raise said selector lever arms separately and successivelyaccording to the length thereof interposed in the path of reciprocationof said selector bar, acam rocker arm pivotally supported inalignmentwith the said carriers andformed with a teeler arm shorter thantheselectorlever arms ,on said carriers and adapted to be raised by saidselector bar after all of the carriers are raised thereby, a cam rigidlyrelatedto said rocker arm, a pivotally supported gravity. dog lever theupper arm of which contacts with said cam and the lower arm ofwhich ,isadapted to engage with the machine stopping means,

sively according to the length thereof interposed in the path ofreciprocation of said selector bar, a cam rocker arm pivotally supportedin alignment with the said carriers and formed with a feeler arm shorterthan the selector lever arms on said carriers and adapted to be raisedby said selector bar after all of the carriers are raised thereby, a camrigidly related to said rocker arm, a pivotally supported gravity doglever the upper arm of which contacts with sa1d cam and the lower arm ofwhich is adapted to engage with the machine stopping means, stirruplevers on and between which said selector bar is mounted, suspender armson which said stirrup levers are pivotally supported, links pivotallyconnecting said stir rup levers with bell crank levers, sa1d bell cranklevers, a universal bar supported upon and between said bell cranklevers, a series of vibratory trip levers, a plurality of rotatable camsfor actuating said trip levers, feeler triggers pivotally mounted onsaid trip levers, and sliver-feed gravity spoons pivotally mounted andformed with tripping shoulders which protrude into the path of saidfeeler fingers on the trip levers when said spoons are relieved ofsliver feed tension, as and for the purpose set forth.

43. In textile machinery of the character designated, the combinationwith sliver drawing rolls, of sliver replacement mechanism comprising aplurality of independently and pivotally supported sliver feed carrierseach formed with a selective lever arm of a length different from thatof the others in the series, a reciprocatory selector bar adapted tocontact with and raise said selective lever arms separately andsuccessively according to sequence in length as interposed in the pathof said reciprocatory selector bar, rock levers pivotally supported, oneat each end of the series of said carriers, and in alignment therewith,said rock levers being formed with feeler arms shorter than theselective lever arms on any of said carriers so as to be adapted to beraised by said reciprocatory selector bar after it has raised all of thecarriers, a carrier rest bar rigidly connecting and extending betweensaid rock levers, and gravity-spoon-controlled mechanism forautomatically actuating said reciprocatory selector bar, substantiallyas and for the purpose described.

44. In textile machinery of the character designated, the combinationwith sliver drawing rolls, of sliver replacement mechanism comprising'aplurality of independently and pivotally supported sliver feed carrierseach formed with a selective lever arm of a length different from thatof the others in the series, a reciprocatory selector bar adapted tocontact with and raise said selective lever arm separately andsuccessively according to sequence in length as inwhich contacts withsaid cam and the lower arm of which is adapted to engag with the machinestopping means, and gravity-spoon controlled mechanism forvautomatically actuating said selector bar, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

45. In textile machinery of the character designated, the combinationwith sliver drawing rolls, of sliver replacement mechanism comprising aplurality of independently and pivotally supported sliver feed carrierseach formed with a selective lever arm of a length different from thatof the others in the series, a reciprocatory selector bar adapted tocontact with and raise said selective carrier lever arms separately andsuccessively according to sequence in length as interposed in the pathof reciprocation of said selector bar, stirrup levers on and betweenwhich said selector bar is rigidly mounted, suspender arms on which saidstirrup levers are pivotally supported, stops on said suspender bars forlimiting the forward thrust of said stirrup levers, fixed stops limitingthe forward thrust of said suspender arms, bell crank levers, linkspivotally connecting said stirrup levers with said bell crank levers, auniversal bar supported upon and between said bell crank levers, a 105series of vibratory trip levers, a plurality of rotatable cams foractuating said trip levers, feeler triggers pivotally mounted on saidtrip levers, and sliver-feed gravity spoons pivotally mounted and formedwith tripping shoulders which protrude into the path of said feelertriggers on the trip levers when said spoons are relieved of sliver feedtension, as and for the purpose set forth.

46. In textile machinery of the character designated, the combinationwith sliver drawing rolls, of sliver replacement mechanism comprising aplurality of independent-- ly and pivotally supported sliver feedcarriers each formed with a selective lever arm of a length differentfrom that of the others in the series, a reciprocatory selector baradapted to contact with and raise said selective carrier lever armsseparately and sno cessively according to sequence in length asinterposed in the path of reciprocation of said selector bar, stirruplevers on and between which said selector bar is rigidly mounted,suspender arms on which said stirrup levers are pivotally supportt d,stops on said suspender bars for limiting the forward thrust of saidstirrup levers, spring detents on said suspender-arms arranged to retardthe movement thereoffor the purpose set forth, fixed stops limiting theforward thrust of said suspender arms, bell crank levers, linkspivotally connecting said stirrup levers with said-bell cran rlevers, auniversal. bar supported upon and between said bell crank levers, aseries of vibratory trip levers, a plurality of rotatable cams foractuating said trip levers, feeler triggers pivotally mounted on saidtrip levers, and sliver-feed gravity spoons pivotally mounted and formedwith tripping shoulders which protrude into the path of said feelertriggers on the trip levers vhen said spoons are relieved of sliver feedtension, as and for the purpose set forth.

. 47. In textile machinery of the character designated, the' combinationwith sliver drawing rolls, of sliver replacement mechanism comprising aplurality of independently and pivotally supported sliver feed carrierseach formed with a selective lever arm of a length different from thatof the others in the series, a reciprocatory selector bar adapted tocontact with and raise said selective carrier lever arms separately andsuccessively according to sequence in length asinterposed in the path ofreciprocation of said selector bar, stirrup levers on and be tween whichsaid selector bar is rigidly mounted, suspender arms on which saidstirrup levers are pivotally supported, stops on said suspender bars forlimiting the forward thrust of said stirrup levers, spring detents onsaid suspender arms arranged to retard the movement thereof for thepurpose set forth, fixed stops limiting the forward thrust of saidsuspender arms, bell crank levers, links pivotally connecting saidstirrup levers with said bell crank levers, retractile springs connectedtherewith which tend constantly to thrust said stirrup levers andsuspender arms into forward positions against the aforesaid stops, auniversal bar supported upon and between said bell. crank levers, aseries of vibratory trip levers, a plurality of rotatable cams arrangedto actuate said trip levers, retractile springs which tend eonstantly toengage said trip levers with said rotatable cams, feeler triggerspivotally mounted on said trip levers and each formed with a depressorarm for contacting with said universal bar, retractile springs whichtend constantly to rock said feeler triggers with their depressor armsout of contact with said universal bar, and pivotally supported sliverfeed gravity spoons formed with tripping shoulders which protrude intothe path of vibration of said feeler triggers on the trip levers whensaid spoons are relieved of sliver feed tension, as set forth.

48. In textile apparatus of the character designated, the combinationwith drawing frame rolls, of means for automatically controllingthesliver feed t-hereto'through the medium of pivotally supported gravityguide spoons, comprising mechanism arranged to successively andindividually position a plurality of replacement sliver carriers inoperative relation to said rolls, and also to stopping the machine whensubsequent failure of sliver feed occurs as and for the purposes setforth.

49. In a drawing frame, means for guiding a plurality of active sliversto sliver receiving rolls, means for holding another sliver in reserve,and means operative upon the breakage or exhaustion of any one of saidactive slivers for automatically substituting said reserve slivertherefor.

50. In textile machinery of the character described, means forsimultaneously passing a plurality of slivers through a set of sliverreceiving rolls, means for holding another sliver in reserve, and meanswhereby said reserve sliver is automatically engaged between said rollsfollowing upon breakage or exhaustion of any one of the other slivers intime to preserve the continuity of sliver feed.

51. In a sliver replacement mechanism, a series of gravity spoons, acorresponding series of oscillating feeler triggers, a correspondingseries of springs tending to hold said feeler triggers in inoperativeposition, a corresponding series of stopping means to limit the motionof said feeler triggers, a universal bar adapted to be operated by anyof said feeler triggers, and a selecting mechanism operated by saiduniversal bar.

52. In a sliver replacement mechanism, a series of gravity spoons, acorresponding series of oscillating feeler triggers, a correspondingseries of springs tending to hold said feeler triggers in inoperativeposition, a corr sponding series of stopping means to limit the motionof said feeler triggers, a universal bar adapted to be operated by anyof said feeler triggers, a selecting mechanism operated by saiduniversal bar, and a plurality of reserve sliver carriers adapted to besuccessively operated by said selecting mechanism. V

53. In a sliver replacement mechanism, a series of gravity spoons, acorresponding series of oscillating feeler triggers, a correspondingseries of springs tending to'hold said feeler triggers in inoperativeposition, a corresponding series of stopping means to limit the motionof said feeler triggers, a universal bar adapted to be operated by anyof said feeler triggers, a. selecting mechanism operated by saiduniversal bar, a plurality of reserve sliver carriers adapted to besuccessively operated by said selecting mechanism, and a stop motionoperable upon the breakage or exhaustion of another sliver after allsaid reserve sliver carriers have limit the motion of said feelertriggers, a been thrown in. universal bar adapted to be operated by any10 54. In a sliver replacement mechanism, a of said feeler triggers, anda selecting mechseries of gravity spoons, a corresponding anism operatedby said universal bar, said 5 series of oscillating feeler triggers, acorselecting mechanism being composed of carresponding series of springstending to hold riers With levers of different lengths. said feelertriggers in inoperative position,

a corresponding series of stopping means to ROBERT E. NAUMBURG.

